The Nation Newspaper

Tag: scandal

  • Cop in $3,000 extortion scandal dismissed

    Cop in $3,000 extortion scandal dismissed

    The Rivers State Police Command led by Commissioner of Police (CP) Olatunji Disu has dismissed an Inspector, Michael Odey, who was among three officers that extorted $3,000 from two victims at gunpoint.

    The two other suspects- Cadet ASPs Doubara Edonyabo and Talent Mungo, have been queried and their files forwarded to the Police Headquarters for review and recommendation to the Police Service Commission (PSC) for disciplinary action.

    The Nation reports that the trio had accosted their victims, accused them of fabricated charges and extorted $3,000 from them without taking them to any police station.

    The suspects who were on illegal duty, were alleged to have engaged in similar acts and usually took their victims to neighbouring Imo or Bayelsa states where they conveniently fleeced them of their resources.

    Spokesperson for the Rivers Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the Inspector’s dismissal in a statement, yesterday.

    According to her, the recommendation for Inspector

    Odey’s dismissal was affirmed at the conclusion of his Orderly Room trial and a review by the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 16, Yenagoa, Alifa Omata.

    “AIG Omata upheld the recommendation for dismissal from the Force, and as such, Odey was relieved of his duty, effective February 7, 2024.”

    “Similarly, Edonyabo and Mungo, have been queried and recommended for dismissal in compliance with established procedures.

    “The disciplinary process for Edonyabo and Mungo will involve review by the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission to ensure a fair resolution.

    “The three officers remain in custody as investigations continue into two additional cases of a similar nature.

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    “The command encourages residents to report any misconduct by law enforcement agents promptly, as any officer involved in misconduct will be met with appropriate actions for fairness and justice,” she said.

    Meanwhile, the AIG Zone 2, Onikan, Mr. Olatoye Durosinmi, yesterday warned officers and men to eschew extortion and indiscipline.

    The warning was contained in a statement issued by the Zonal Public Relations Officer (ZPRO), SP Tunni Ayuba.

    According to Ayuba, Durosinmi gave the warning at his maiden meeting with the officers and men of the command at Onikan, Lagos.

    The ZPPRO said the AIG frowned at reports of extortion and unprofessional conducts from his men, warning that erring officers would not be spared from the wrath of the law.

    He said that the zone would be driven by technology in policing Lagos and Ogun states with a view to curbing crime and criminality on the highways.

    The AIG re-emphasized the need to work in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to ensure a safe environment for members of the public.

  • Scandal: Zik’s varsity suspends another staff over certificate forgery

    Scandal: Zik’s varsity suspends another staff over certificate forgery

    Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Anambra state has suspended another staff member due to a recent alleged forgery scandal, following the suspension of 12 others for various offenses just three months ago.

    The staff (names withheld),was alleged to have forged his degree and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exclusion certificate to secure a job in the institution

    It was discovered when the suspect wrote to the University requesting to change his degree result.

    This was announced Thursday, November 2, in Awka, by the Special Adviser to the Vice Chancellor Prof. Charles Esimone, on Public Relations and Special Duties, Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu.

    Ojukwu said he had been suspended from the employment of the University for six months while his case would undergo other processes before final action.

    The statement read in part: “The Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS has approved the immediate suspension of (names withheld) over allegations of presentation of forged and fake degree result to the University.

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    “In a bid to secure employment in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, he abandoned his undergraduate programme and forged the university statement of result and a letter of exclusion from the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).

    “He later went ahead to complete his degree programme.

    “The whole scenario emanated when the suspect wrote to the University requesting to change his degree result.

    “The new result he submitted bears different name, and different class of degree and this resulted in suspicion.

    “Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this Administrative staff, forged his degree result and letter of exclusion from the NYSC based on the obvious disparity between the documents he submitted originally and the new documents he was trying to substitute.

    “The class of degree in both results presented varies, the forged statement of result with the name bears second class lower division while the original result with a different name bears third class.

    “In following due process, the Vice Chancellor in exercising his powers based on the university rules and regulation approved his immediate suspension from the employment of the University for six months while his case undergoes other processes in the University before final disposal action.”

  • Health insurance scandal

    From whichever prism raging controversy at the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, is viewed, the organization is unarguably, in a deep mess. Weighty allegations of financial impropriety have been traded and something very urgent and drastic has to be done to retrieve the scheme from the precipice into which it is irretrievably mired.

    As things stand, the environment of work has been badly polluted even as the safety of staff cannot be guaranteed. Not with the Gestapo entry into the headquarters of the organization by its suspended Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf.  Aided by a contingent of about 50 policemen, Yusuf reportedly confronted the staff that blocked the gate to deny him entry.  In the ensuing melee unbecoming of a governmental institution, teargas was fired by the police as he eventually made his way into his office.

    It was a shameful scene to behold. And the impression created is that of a complete breakdown of law and order within that critical institution. With the scene that played out, it has become clear there is serious resentment to the authority of the executive secretary with the staff divided along the line. The organization cannot achieve its statutory mandate in such a hostile environment.

    But it would seem the current crises could have been avoided had the relevant authorities done the needful when Yusuf was suspended last year by the minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole and a panel set up to probe allegations of gross misconduct against him.  Then, the minister had sent him on suspension to enable the panel do a thorough job without encumbrances. The committee which was composed mainly of staff of the ministry found him culpable of infractions that ranged from nepotism to theft of public funds.

    Curiously, President Buhari overruled the minister and ignored the findings of the panel when he ordered the recall of the executive secretary. A letter to that effect urged Yusuf to work closely with the minister on resumption of duties. And that appeared to have resolved the crisis within the NHIS albeit, temporarily. Speculations regarding the rationale for the surprising reinstatement of Yusuf ranged from accusations that the panel was not independent and free from bias to inability to conclusively prove some of the allegations made against the NHIS boss by the petitioners.

    President Buhari’s order reinstating Yusuf may have been informed by these considerations. But as recent events have shown, that was not all there was to the crises. Only last week, the governing council of the scheme again suspended Yusuf accusing him of monumental financial infractions. The council handed the suspension order on him to aid thorough investigation of allegations against him.

    Chairperson of the council, Enyantu Ifenne said the council decided to suspend Yusuf after being inundated with petitions and infractions against him. The administrative panel set up by the council is to among others; examine allegations of attempt to illegally execute N30 billion investments in FGN bonds, fraudulent inflation of the cost of biometric capturing machines, unlawful staff postings, insubordination, willful defiance of council’s directives and refusal to reflect amendments made by the council in the 2018 budget. The panel has three months to report back.

    But Yusuf again resisted the suspension order and stormed the headquarters of the organization with a contingent of security men forcing his way through. And as was the case in his earlier suspension by the minister, he is challenging the powers of the governing council to suspend him. He claims by virtue of the NHIS Act, particularly sections 4 and 8, his appointment and removal from office, whether by way of suspension or otherwise, is at the instance of the president. But the same Act in Part 3 section 8(3) also stated that the executive secretary is “subject to the general direction of the council”.

    Apparently relying on the former, he would not subject himself to any suspension order unless that directly handed over to him by the president. But the same president that appointed him also appointed the minster and the governing council to supervise his activities. In his earlier suspension by the minister, he had offered the same reason though the order for his suspension was authorised by the then acting president. In his current predicament, he is at it again. How he gets to know whether his suspension order was not authorized by the president even when letters emanating from that quarters will still be passed onto him through the office of the minister remains a puzzle.

    With such mindset, should it surprise anybody that allegation of gross insubordination levied against Yusuf holds some water? And since he owes his office to the president, he is at liberty to do whatever pleases him. It is therefore not difficult to figure out that at the centre of his confrontation with his supervisors is the feeling that he can only take directive from the president.

    But the argument as to whether the Act establishing the scheme explicitly gave the council the powers to suspend the executive secretary or not is patently unnecessary. It is a mere exercise in technicality as the same Act could not have permitted a situation in which the executive secretary will be above the supervising council and the minister. It does not and cannot work that way.

    The council has accused him of insubordination and wilful defiance of its directives. It is very unlikely these are spurious allegations. If anything, his disposition to directives emanating from his supervisors goes to reinforce this. In the circumstance staff discipline will be at its lowest ebb.

    But it would appear Yusuf is not alone in his obduracy. Those beating the drums for him are somewhere watching. He is neither the first person appointed to such critical institutions nor will he be the last. He is not the only person so appointed by the president that can only be removed with the approval of the president. Why his has become an issue is the moot point. He has accused Health management organizations (HMO’s) and sundry politicians of masterminding his current predicament because he blocked their sources of ripping the scheme dry.

    That could as well be. But it is inherently deficient in accounting for why he has found himself unable to work harmoniously with the minister, the governing council and the generality of the staff. It cannot also exonerate him from the plethora of allegations levelled against him that landed him in two suspensions within about 14 months. There must be more to it than he would have us believe.

    The unmistakable impression we get is that Yusuf is bigger than the minister, bigger than the governing council and they may have to be sacrificed for him to function effectively. There is also the feeling that everything can be sacrificed and every toe stepped upon for Yusuf to have his way. If that is the feeling within government circles, the options are clear. They should go ahead and relieve the minister and the governing council of their posts since Yusuf cannot work with them. That will enable work unsupervised and perhaps report directly to the president who appointed him.

    But where the government cannot adopt this line of action, it is only rational to see the continued stay of Yusuf in that scheme as an unmitigated liability. He must be made to proceed on suspension for serious investigations into the recurring allegations against him to be thoroughly conducted. His supervisors cannot be all wrong. And for a government that brandishes the war against corruption as one of its cardinal programmes, it cannot afford to do any less. The government cannot afford to shut its eyes to the weighty allegations traded without compromising its commitment to that war.

    Before now, the government has been heavily criticized for double standards in executing the war against sleaze in public offices. Apart from allegations bordering on focusing almost solely on the opposition, it has also been criticized for looking the other way when infractions concern some of its favoured ones. The case of Yusuf fits into the characteristic double standards when officials of the Buhari administration are accused of financial infractions.

  • NHIS scandal

    •AGF has a duty to ensure that public funds are recovered and culprits punished

    BARELY four months after his controversial reinstatement following a highly publicised spat with Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, another round of storm appears to be brewing between the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, and the governing council of the scheme over issues bordering on probity.

    This time, the matter involves N138 billion NHIS cash said to be trapped in 17 banks, financial companies and some individuals from January 2011 till date.

    A whistle-blower had reportedly blown the lid on the trapped investments following which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, brought in a private accounting firm, Aruna Bawa and Company “to carry out a forensic audit and backlog recovery of all National Health Insurance Scheme’s (NHIS’) funds held by financial institutions, companies, individuals into the Federal Government’s treasury in accordance with the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the terms and conditions of the Agency Agreement executed by the parties on the 19th day of September, 2017″.

    On May 21, the firm sent its findings to the chairperson of the NHIS Governing Council, Dr. Enyantu Ifenne. It found that “a total amount of N138,088,353,172, made up of principal plus  accrued interest charges, compounded up to April 29, 2018, are  as at the date of this letter, due from the financial institutions that are holding onto the funds”.

    This, as it later turned out, was not before the council had been led by the executive secretary to act on another forensic audit by Sofura Professional Services on the same issue, hence the petition by the firm engaged by the AGF – Aruna Bawa and Company – to the council accusing the executive secretary of concealment, conflict of interest, among other sundry infractions.

    An ostensibly embarrassed council had immediately directed the executive secretary to respond to the issues raised. It listed the issues as: “Suggestion that Aruna Bawa & Co and Sofura Professional Services are locked in an ownership contest for the financial data, and by inference, rights to financial rewards accruable from recovered funds.

    ”Likelihood that these developments/ revelations may undermine public confidence in council’s integrity, transparency and motives for funds recovery efforts.

    “Controversy arising from the conflict between the accounting firms may jeopardise recovery of NHIS funds”.

    Above all, the council claimed that it was not informed about the other initiative by the government to recover NHIS funds trapped in commercial banks. It gave the executive secretary up till June 12 to respond.

    We see two issues as touching fundamentally on how public officials handle public funds. Foremost of course is how a whopping amount which ordinarily ought to have been subjected to routine oversight and financial regulations could be kept by powerful officials in collusion with the banks, away for so long without triggering an alarm in the system. The other is the fledgling industry of rent that such gross derelictions have spawned, and this at humongous costs to the treasury.

    Now that the quantum has been established, we expect the recovery efforts to begin in earnest. We expect the office of the AGF not only to lead in the recovery efforts but to identify the individuals and entities involved and the extent of their infractions for immediate prosecution.  It should also help resolve the question of whether or not the other forensic auditor was brought in through the back door.

    As for the query issued by the  governing council to the executive secretary, we expect him to respond if only to shake off his growing image of being a sacred cow – untouchable. His response should also help to resolve the issues between the auditors.

  • NNPC in fresh corruption scandal

    NNPC in fresh corruption scandal

    The Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, yesterday accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of involvement in a fresh multi-million dollar corruption.

    Melaye, at plenary yesterday, claimed that NNPC is involved in a “monumental corruption” which the Senate should look into.

    He noted that the NNPC allegedly registered a company by the name Brass NLG.

    The firm, he said, was jointly owned by investors from Italy, Belgium, France, among others.

    Melaye said contrary to statutory provisions that the account of the company be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NNPC and its partners, instead, opened an account with a commercial bank.

    He noted that the account has no Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    He claimed that money running into millions of dollars have been withdrawn from the account.

    Melaye said: “While some individuals and government appointees would continue to steal, we have decided to continue to expose corruption in public life. This morning (yesterday), I draw the attention of the Nigerian Senate, a suspected colossal, monumental corruption in NNPC.

    “Mr. President, a company was registered with the name Brass NLG limited with the Federal Government having controlling shares and we have some Italians, Belgians, French people who are shareholders with the Federal Government in controlling shares of about 50 per cent.

    “It is known fact that once you have a joint venture, the account of such joint venture should be domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria. But in this case, that was not what happened.

    “This account has no BVN and there have been periodic withdrawals. The last withdrawal from that account was to the tune of $4 million. As I speak to you, the balance of that account as at today is $137 million.”

    Senate President Bukola Saraki sought the approval of the Senate to allow Melaye to bring a proper motion.

    When the motion was put to a voice vote, the senators voted in the affirmative.

     

  • On the Malabu scandal

    SIR: The announcement made last week by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami that the British government had returned to the Nigerian government $85 million dollars out of the looted funds in the shady Malabu oil bloc deal is a welcome development. The federal government must however not rest on it’s oars as it must go the whole hog in unraveling all those involved in what many have dubbed as the largest organized crime in the whole of Africa. It must also go ahead to prosecute them in court and recover every single kobo that was looted by these greedy and unpatriotic elements.

    It all started in 1998 when the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha decided to increase indigenous participation in the upstream sector of the petroleum industry. Malabu oil and gas owned by the then Petroleum Minister, Chief Dan Etete acquired OPL 245 for $20 million dollars but only made a part payment of $2 million dollars. The oil field is estimated to hold nine billion barrels of crude oil worth about half a trillion dollars thereby making it one of the largest and most lucrative oil blocs in Africa. Malabu brought in Shell as technical partners but the deal was revoked by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo upon assumption of office in 1999. He thereafter proceeded to award the oil bloc to Shell without a public bidding which led to a lengthy court battle between Malabu and Shell before they finally agreed on an out of court settlement. Obasanjo, however returned OPL 245 in 2006 to Malabu. Shell began negotiating directly with Etete in order to acquire OPL 245 shortly after Jonathan assumed power in 2010. The deal between Etete and Shell was consummated in 2011 when Malabu sold OPL 245 to Shell and Eni for a whopping $1.1 billion. The Nigerian government under Jonathan acted as intermediaries in the sale since such a huge amount of money could not be paid directly to Etete who was a convicted felon in France as at that time. He had earlier been convicted in absential of money laundering in France. Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion dollars to the Government of Nigeria which subsequently transferred $800 million dollars to Malabu. The transfer was authorized by the then Attorney General of the Federation Muhammed Adoke and Yerima Ngama,the then Minister of State for Finance. Malabu transferred over half of the $80 million dollars it received to several accounts around the world as bribes to politicians in Nigeria who helped facilitate the deal.

    There are three main issues involved in this messy oil deal which I have aptly tagged Malabugate. One, that OPL 245 was sold to Malabu oil in 1998 for a mere pittance. It was sold for $20 million dollars out of which it only paid $2 million dollars. This was for an oil bloc worth several hundreds of billions of dollars. Also, Dan Etete’s award of an oil bloc to a company in which he had substantial interest smacks of nothing but corruption. Two, that the government under President Jonathan helped transfer such a humongous amount of money to a company owned by a convicted felon in France who bought a valuable national asset at a give away price beggars belief. All the government officials complicit in this deal should be brought to book no matter how powerful or highly placed they might be. Three, the Nigerian government only paid $800 million dollars to Malabu oil leaving a balance of over $200 million dollars. What happened to the remaining $200 million dollars?

    These three main issues should be the focus areas of the government as they investigate, prosecute and recover the looted funds in the Malabu oil deal. Otherwise, it is not yet uhuru.

     

    • Peter Ovie Akus,

    Ifo, Ogun State.

  • Buhari ‘has no certificate scandal’

    Buhari ‘has no certificate scandal’

    The Presidency yesterday declared that President Muhammadu Buhari has no certificate scandal.

    Senior Special Assistant (media and publicity) to the President Garba Shehu, in a reaction to a media report yesterday, said:

    “In reaction to your cover story this morning Sunday, March 26, 2017, we wish to emphatically state that President Muhammadu Buhari does not fit into your categorisation of leaders with certificate scandals because he bears none that is on available records.

  • To end a scandal

    To end a scandal

    •Kachikwu was right about fuel import but what next?

    It is no revelation. Informed persons and organisations in Nigeria and abroad have stated that and much more, time and again. Still, the recent declaration by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, that the country’s importation of petroleum resources is “a fraud on the system” is rich in significance, given that he was speaking, as it were, from the pulpit of authority.
    Rarely has any official of that calibre spoken openly with such candour about the dysfunctions in an industry that lies at the vital core of the nation’s economy. The importation is a gigantic swindle that has gone on for more than two decades, despite the manifest illogic of a situation in which a country that has four refineries and is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of petroleum has had to import finished products, in a process as transparent as a concrete wall.
    The fraud has been well documented by a committee led by Nuhu Ribadu, former chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The refineries are deliberately crippled to ensure that they cannot produce enough for local consumption, therefore making importation to bridge the gap inevitable. More by design than default, the gap has been growing wider and wider, necessitating bigger and bigger fuel imports. Virtually everyone who knows someone secured a piece of the immensely rewarding market in fuel imports.
    Licensees, armed with fake shipping documents, filed claims for fuel that was never delivered, and conniving officials handed them huge payouts, based on the price differential between the local cost of the product and the dollar cost in the international market. Products of the anaemic refineries were loaded on to ships as if for export; the ships turned round in mid-ocean, only to berth with the same fuel and register it as an import.
    The well-connected reaped fortunes from this fraudulent enterprise, even as the nation was almost bankrupted by payment of so-called subsidies for oil imports – subsidies that seemed to grow bigger the more they were cut. Sadly, most of those involved in this nefarious traffick are yet to be brought to justice.
    The fraud–ridden process continues, even now, as shortages and rumours of shortages of refined products proliferate. The cracks that made it possible have not been sealed.
    Unless this scandalous arrangement is ended, Dr Kachikwu warned in his address before the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference, in Abuja, not much progress could be expected in the oil and gas industry.
    The warning is not new. What makes Dr Kachikwu’s admonition different is that he has set a target date for ending the running fraud. Importation of refined petroleum products must end no later than 2019, he said.
    The refinery now being constructed in Lagos by the industrialist Aliko Dangote is expected to come on stream in 2018. At full capacity, it will produce more than enough to meet demand.
    Until then, however, the nation can ill afford the shortages and rumours of shortages of fuel that paralyse economic and social life ever so often.
    Everything must be done to meet Dr Kachikwu’s target date. The comatose refineries will have to be revived and made to work at or close to full capacity. Officials must now think beyond the turn-around maintenance schedules that cost a fortune but turn little around even in the short term. Plans to install modular refineries to augment the older ones must be faithfully and promptly executed.
    Leakages in importation and distribution will have to be plugged, and smuggling of refined petroleum products will have to be curbed.

  • Sex scandal rocks IBB varsity

    Sex scandal rocks IBB varsity

    The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State, is probing the sexual harassment allegation levelled against a teacher, Mallam Ishaq Yusuf, by a student, Chidimma Mercy Samuel. The teacher, who was found in the student’s room at night, denies the allegation. He claims he was framed up. WALE AJETUNMOBI reports.

    How did a lecturer find himself in such a compromising situation? This is the knot a panel is seeking to untie as it probes the allegation of sexual harassment against Mallam Ishaq Yusuf, a teacher in the Department of English Language and Communication Studies of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State. The lecturer was allegedly found naked in a female student’s room around 10pm on February 21.

    Chidimma Mercy Samuel, a 400-Level student in the department, accused the lecturer  of coming to her hostel with a plan to sleep with her. But, Yusuf claimed that he was framed up. He alleged that the student conspired with some boys to abduct him.

    But, the images of a series of WhatsApp conversations between the lecturer and the student, obtained by The Nation, paint a different picture. They indicated that Yusuf planned to visit Chidimma in her hostel at an arranged time. He allegedly used his MTN number – 08035520941 – to chat with the student.

    Yusuf was allegedly caught in Chidimma’s room by a group of boys just before the act. The English lecturer, who allegedly drove himself to the student’s hostel, hurriedly left without taking his two mobile phones, an ATM card and his underpants.

    It all happened at the Montana Lodge, an off-campus hostel in Lapai, where Chidimma lives. Chidimma has alleged threats to her life, following the incident. She said some anonymous persons called and threatened her with death after the incident.

    Chidimma claimed Yusuf started disturbing her from her first year in the school. Her refusal to yield ground, she claimed, earned her a carry-over in his course.

    She said: “The lecturer has been disturbing me since I was in 100-Level. He would tell me how much he likes me and would come to meet me where I was reading to disturb me. I declined to date him. I told him I was not interested in anything he was saying. Then, he failed me in his course, which I took in second semester of 100-Level.

    “I didn’t protest the result, because I did not want to meet him for any help. I knew I would do better the next time. I was able to pass the carry-over course when the department brought another lecturer to take the course.”

    Chidimma said Yusuf was unrelenting in his pursuit, claiming: “It got worse when I was in 300-Level.”

    Chidimma, whose wedding comes up on March 21, added: “The lecturer purposely failed me in two of his courses I took, because I turned down his advances towards me.”

    What culminated in the February 21 incident started on the eve of the last Valentine’s Day. Yusuf, according to the WhatsApp conversation, allegedly asked Chidimma to see him in private.

    “I asked him if there was a problem; he replied that there was a problem. I asked him what the problem was, but he refused to tell me in the conversation. He insisted I see him in private,” the student claimed.

    Chidimma claimed to have complained to former Head of the Department (HOD) of English Language and Communication Studies, Dr Ebenezer Ogungbe.

    “I told Dr Ogungbe about the conversation the lecturer had been having with me. The former HOD said I should tell him (Yusuf) to see him. When I told him Dr Ogungbe requested to see him, he didn’t reply me. He only said goodnight,” she said.

    On February 20, Chidmma alleged, Yusuf again chatted with her around 11pm, complaining about her reluctance to see him. He then allegedly demanded to see Chidimma that night, but the student said she declined because it was late.

    She alleged: “The following day, he sent me messages and said he would see me later. In the evening of the day, he sent me another message, asking where I was. I told him I was in my hostel. He said he could not imagine ‘how it was going to be’. I was confused. I asked him what he meant by that statement.

    “He said he wanted to see me that evening and he did not want the meeting point to be at his office, so that people would not see us together. I told him to come to my hostel, because my fiancé was around. He said he would come to my hostel at 10pm. I called Dr. Ogungbe again to inform him about the development.

    “My fiancé was already angry and had started suspecting my relationship with the lecturer. He felt I was the one chasing the lecturer about for marks. I explained everything to him and he said he would like to know why the lecturer wanted to see me. I told the lecturer to come to my hostel if he really wanted to see me, but he did not show up.”

    After Chidimma’s fiancé left for Abuja the following day, Yusuf allegedly called to say he would be at her hostel in the evening.

    Chidimma claimed: “I quickly informed my fiancé, who called his friends to come around my hostel to confirm things for him. My fiancé thought the lecturer wanted to kill me after sleeping with me. When the lecturer called me to say he was on his way to my hostel, I alerted my fiancé’s friends who positioned themselves around my apartment.

    “Immediately he got into my room at 10pm, he checked around to be sure there was nobody with me. He checked my bathroom and kitchen. He didn’t know that people were beside the windows outside, listening to our conversation.

    “I asked him what he wanted from me. He sat close to me on the bed and extended his arm around my shoulder. He asked if I knew the reason I had been failing his courses. I told him I did not know. He said it was because I had refused to ‘comply’ and ‘play along’.

    “He said that was the reason he needed to come to my hostel and ‘rub minds together’ with me. He said he would ensure that I passed his courses after sleeping with me. He told me that without sleeping with him, I won’t pass the courses and I won’t graduate from the school.”

    After making his intention known, he allegedly got up, went close to the bathroom and pulled off his clothes. He only had his boxers on him as he approached the student.

    Chidimma alleged: “I pretended to be playing along. I asked him to pull off his boxers too. He obliged. That was when I called for help and my fiancé’s friends barged in and saw the lecturer naked. They started filming him and taking his photographs as he was naked.”

    It was gathered that Yusuf begged the boys not to expose him. Asked what he was doing in a female student’s room at night, he allegedly pleaded that the matter be resolved amicably and promised to pass Chidimma in all his courses.

    Yusuf was made to write an undertaking that he would not disturb the girl again before he was allowed to go. The lecturer allegedly wrote the undertaking. As he left in a hurry, Yusuf was said to have forgotten his underwear ATM card and mobile phones, which were still with Chidimma at the time of this report.

    The next day, The Nation gathered that Yusuf  reported the case to the management. He alleged that Chidimma sent a group of cultists to abduct him and dispossess him of his ATM card and mobile phones – a Nokia and Infinix – at gun point.

    Chidimma, he claimed, connived with the boys to kidnap him on his way home.

    “I was forced to remove my clothes,” he said, claiming: “I received calls from the girl in the evening. She asked me to see her. She said a boy whose test paper I tore earlier in the day during a test wanted me to help talk to the lecturer taking the course for a make-up test. I told her they should see me the next day.

    “On my way home, I saw the girl at a junction close to her hostel. She was standing by the roadside with some boys. As soon as she entered my car, the boys also came in and pressed a metal on my back. So, I was forced to drive to the girl’s house.

    “As we got into the room, they removed my clothes and poured water on me. They demanded that I give them ransom before I could be freed. I was accused of making attempt to rape the girl. The boys humiliated me.”

    But Chidimma denied framing up her teacher. She said she had been receiving threat calls.

    “I was frightened by the calls and had to leave for my safety. Some people called me that they were after me. The school is no longer safe for me,” she said.

    The management has invited the lecturer and the student to explain what transpired.

    Chidimma said her department’s head had called her to confirm management’s letter inviting her to the panel.

    Contacted, Dr Ogungbe said he was aware of the matter, but declined further comment in order “not to pre-empt the panel’s investigation into the matter”.

    The IBBU Director of Information, Alhaji Baba Akote, said the panel would unravel what happened.

    Akote said: “I won’t make further comments on the matter, except to tell you that the incident is being investigated by the school panel. This is my position.”

    In a statement on its website last Friday, the school said it would take appropriate action against anyone indicted by the panel.

    The statement reads: “The university management is aware of the recent unfortunate incident between a male lecturer and a female student. In view of this, management has set up a committee to investigate the immediate and remote cause(s) of the incident. The committee is headed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and involves all stakeholders in the matter.

    “Accordingly, all parties involved are hereby advised to exercise restraint. The university community and the general public are assured of the management’s resolve to take appropriate disciplinary action against any party found guilty after the investigation.”

  • NIS:National Institute for Scandal (Sports)

    NIS:National Institute for Scandal (Sports)

    In this report, TAIWO ALIMI digs into the internal strife and corruption threatening to kill the nation’s sports citadel, National Institute for Sports (NIS).     

    UNDERNEATH the façade of a brilliant edifice looming larger than life and the dazzling academic toga of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Nigeria’s biggest sports establishment, is a short fuse which if ignited could implode. It is like a simmering fire about to burst out.
    It was supposed to be the greatest sports training and research institution of the nation. Conceptualised in 1972, Decree 31 of 1992 birthed the NIS, and gave it power and control. It was fashioned after the great Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), which began operation in 1981.
    The legislation gifted NIS autonomy from the National Sports Commission (NSC), hence, it is given power to fire and hire, generate and spend funds, and create, initiate and execute ideas, with minimal control from the NSC.
    Engraved into the framework of AIS dual function of inspiring quality sport manpower and development, and discovering, harnessing, nurturing and grooming young talents to stardom, the AIS gene has not rubbed off on NIS, as the former is blossoming while the latter is crumbling.

    NIS/AIS
    Numbers, they say, don’t lie. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games – 319 current and former athletes of AIS competed in 19 sports and won eight gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals. Australia won 58 medals in all.
    At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens – 289 current and former athletes of the institute competed in twenty sports and won 10 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals a total of 32- out of 49 medals won by the country.
    The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games had 263 current and former AIS athletes pocketing seven gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals out of 46 medals won by Australia.
    While at the last Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, 158 current and former (including Paralympics’ scholarship holders) competed in 12 sports and won 88 medals; 41 gold, 23 silver, and 24 bronze. Australia won 177 medals in India.
    For NIS, sadly, the figure is not inspiring. NIS yearly turns out graduates coming for diploma, higher diploma and advanced certificate courses, but it can boast of few accomplished athletes and coaches. Chioma Ajunwa, Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist is a former student of NIS as well as the late Super Eagles manager, Shaibu Amodu. The citadel of knowledge also made the late coach Yemi Tella, who led the Nigeria U-18 soccer team to gold medal at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea.
    The performance index of the 25-year-old institute ranks far below those of its peers in the world and could fall even lower unless something is done quickly to reverse the crises threatening to engulf it.
    Verifying the downward slide, Head, Coaching and Training Department, Jimmy Adeniyi said the NIS has fallen short in the area of manpower development and training. “We hardly go out for training and retraining. It is difficult to keep up with modern technique, which, of course, is constantly changing.”

    The problems
    Investigation revealed that the system is bleeding the institution dry. This reporter found a system fraught with internal wrangling, inadequate funding, sharp practices, abuse of office and poor welfare of staff.
    However, internal wrangling tops the list and the crises did not start now. Its embers were found fanned by the immediate past Director/CEO, Dr Sunday Okhakume Ikhioya and it has simmered far longer to die a natural death.
    Fired by discord, crises, distrust, fund diversion, the NIS is like a pregnant woman in labour. She will not experience comfort until she is delivered of the unborn baby.
    Current sparks quietly in the tranquil ambience of the institute and strife is the order of the day.
    Peace in NIS is fragile and breaks down at short notice with deep animosity between managers and union members and some staff.
    The most prominent union in the institution Academic Staff Union of Research institutions (ASURI) are regularly at loggerhead with the management creating mistrust, tension and sometimes leading to litigation. The tension could be sliced with a knife.
    That erstwhile director Ikhioya was consumed by this incessant bickering is to put it mildly. His eight-year tenure was so hot that he had to retire early for Dr Eke Kingdom Chukwudi to step in.
    Behind him were trails of litigation, bad blood, and debt that his successor inherited.
    In March 31, 2014, Dr Francis Akinremi’s led ASURI blew the lid off the hot bottle by requesting for documentation of income and expenditure for the year 2010 to 2013 under Director/CEO Ikhioya. This, the union leader, said was necessitated by management’s nonstop talks of scarce resources hampering the execution of statutory functions and staff training.
    Akinremi remembered the struggle vividly. “I was arrested and slept in detention for two days for demanding for what is just. We had no choice but to take the matter to court because we saw it as infringement on our right.”
    “We had no option but to follow the suit through. We felt that Freedom of Information Act 2011 gave us the right to access NIS books,” noted Akinremi with anger.
    Other defiant letters followed, and allegations and counter allegations became part of the system.
    In April 2015, ASURI wrote to the governing council of the institute over allegation of gross misconduct against the NIS under the immediate past director.
    The strongly worded petition alleged the management misappropriated over N120million IGR. It requested the governing council to investigate.
    By July 10, 2015, when Lagos High Court Justice S. Saidu delivered his judgement, granting reliefs sought by the applicants, ASURI and NIS balance sheet was available to all staff through ASURI, Dr Ikhioya had left the scene for Dr Chukwudi to grapple with the madness that NIS had become.
    “When I came on board on May 15, 2015, NIS was completely in confusion,” Dr Chukwudi seated behind his desk, said in dejected voice. “There was problem between the management and the management board. They were in court and when I received the court verdict, I had to call both parties and settle them amicably. We agreed and that was the first step to refocus and make peace, that we are one Nigeria and should live like one. If we don’t agree together, we cannot achieve the goal and action statement before us. That was the first thing.
    “I inherited a lot of debt; the bursar can give you the precise amount. I started paying, especially the academic staff and the one that broke the camel back was the 2014 sandwich programme that was not paid, which I paid off gradually with the little that we are getting from government. Staff welfare was also one of the problems that I had to deal with.”

    Poor funding
    The current CEO also pinned the problem down to low funding by government. “I cannot say that this is precisely the amount that we need to do all we want to do. I am an administrative person, but when we make our budget for a capital project and it is cut down, it is what we have that we make use of.”
    However, investigation by the reporter revealed that NIS’ trouble is not entirely of lack of fund. The official financial statements from 2012 to 2013 bear a staggering income from subvention and IGR.
    In 2010, a combined N414.6million was generated. It rose to N602.5 million in 2011. By 2012, it crashed to N497.7million and gained marginally by N2million to record N499.7 the following year.
    Rueben Ichado, the NIS bursar insists that government subvention and IGR had sunk lower than what obtained in 2013. “We don’t get as much as we want. Even IGR is low and we have to use what we get.”
    A lecturer in Sports Management Studies has a different opinion though, he argued: “NIS problem is not lack of money, but misuse of what is available. If the little that is available is judiciously used, we would not be talking of poor performance in NIS.”
    Speaking on condition of anonymity, the lecturer cited corruption and abuse of power as key factors militating against development.

    Alleged misappropriation
    The 40-year-old NIS building is the face of then institute. It serves as classrooms, offices, and hostels for scores of students, and staff. Gone were the gay and busy atmosphere the building used to radiate. The emptiness that hung around the edifice can be measured with a coin.
    For the old students and lecturers of the NIS, the elevator was a spectacle to behold.
    Comrade Ken Omezi, acting chairman of ASURI informed that the elevator has not worked for one day, in ten years.
    However, in 2007, N4.2milion was allegedly released to refurbish the elevator and another N4.7million went into repairing it three years later in 2010.
    Bayo Oluwaniyi, an engineer and head facilities/ procurement refuted the claim. According to him, “The elevator stopped working a long time ago. It was installed 40 years ago when the building was built. It developed fault and when we presented the budget for a new one, it was too high and we resorted to refurbishment. Twice we spent some money on it more than ten years ago, it worked for a while and stopped. For eight years now, no money was spent on it.”

    Tartan track
    The NIS football and athletic pitch track also became an item when official record released by management showed that N19, 005.000 was paid to Kye Builders Investment limited for the construction of tartan track.
    When the reporter paid a visit to the field, adjoining the new NIS building, there was no trace of a tartan track, and there was no ongoing work on it. The facility has a standard football pitch that generates over N1million yearly, but without a tartan track.
    For example, officially NIS made N1. 4million renting out the pitch in 2010, N719, 900 in 2011, N1.1million the following year and N563, 500 in 2013.
    “That is not the only facility where money is generated every weekend. The lawn tennis court is there. The gymnasium, the Conference Hall, the hostels and canteen are all rented out for money,” according to Dr Akinremi.
    Bursar Ichado confirmed payment of N19, 005,000 as mobilization fee to Kye Builders in 2014 before funding issue stalled the work. “The project was captured in the 2014 appropriation and the amount earmarked for the tartan track was N157million. In Dec 2014, we did contract evaluation and Kye Builders the most qualified. On Dec 30, 2014, 15% of the contract, the statutory provision was paid. That was how N19, 500, 000 came to be. We had hoped that between January and March, 2015, further money would be released so it was put into the 2015 budget. Unfortunately, it was struck out. Same thing in 2016 and that is why we could not complete the project. Kye had moved their equipment into site, but they could only do the long jump, discuss, shot put, javelin as well as grading of the track. We did artwork, filling and grading to make it usable. That is what our money could accomplish. The money was not misappropriated as some people believe.”
    Conforming Oluwaniyi said tartan track could not be laid halfway. “For us to be able to finish the job, we have to cough out over N100million, which we do not have.”
    In order to validate Oluwaniyi’s claim, the reporter made further inquiry on final cost of construction of a standard tartan track. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) put the value of a standard tartan track at $1million (about N315m)

    Training
    A large chunk of the NIS finance, the management claims goes into staff training and welfare packages. At least over N80million was officially recorded for this from 2010 to 2013, yet, coaches have complained bitterly of lack of it.
    “There has been a lot of deceit in this area of training and workshop. There have been instances when money was approved for workshop outside Lagos for over more than 100 coaches, yet we did not see the money nor attend the trainings.”
    Determined to unravel this mystery, the reporter secured photocopies of official memos, cheques and payment vouchers.
    “The first one is a national workshop on skills and techniques in athletics, basketball and football from November 9-14, 2015.”
    According to the internal memo raised and signed by the bursar, Ichado, N2, 496,000 was approved by the current director for 104 games masters to attend the workshop.
    Voucher for release of money as well as invoice by one Destiny Catering Logistics Services Ltd, Kaduna also surfaced.
    Further clarification from coach Adeniyi revealed that the institute attended no workshop/training in 2015. “I am in a position to know if 104 game masters will leave NIS, nothing of such happened. It is a ploy to siphon money,” he complained.
    Again, barely one month after, just about six months into the tenure of Director Chukwudi, a similar memo of another national workshop on skills and techniques in athletics, basketball and football originated from Bursar Ichado and got the approval and signature of the NIS boss. This time around, a sum of N2, 415, 110. 00, payable to Evergreen Restaurant Nigeria Limited in Lokoja road was paid out.
    The workshop was for 100 game masters and not one coach had attested to being on the team.
    “It was a ruse to grab money,” Akinremi bewailed. “It did not happen.”

    Alleged diversion of fund
    The Nation’s finding shows a case of fund diversion as confirmed by the bursar, when he was confronted with facts and figures.
    He said, “The actual amount involved is N5.3m. The money was spent from between 2014 and 2015. That time we have governing council and the tradition is that since they do meetings regularly we have to service the office of the chairman, his vehicles and those of others. It was an unwritten rule and the chairman of the council was Col Idu Enoche (rtd). NIS was spending N600,000 every month and along the line it went up to N5.3m and since we cannot put it in our financial record, as it is against the rule, we have to generate memo to record those things and the tellers for all the payments are here. It is not that we organised any workshop, it is to settle some things based on understanding of all. The council knew about it and we can prove that the money was not misappropriated by the director or by me.”
    Director Chukwudi, who sat close to Ichado, shook his head intermittently as he was talking.
    He quickly exonerated himself. “I don’t have any knowledge of this,” he said to no one in particular.

    Gymnasium
    Another strange memo that hit many staff below the belt is one affecting the removal of domestic items in the NIS gymnasium with the full approval of the director.
    The items: a set of bar, a chair, one corner bar, one giant Heineken refrigerator and one giant Coca Cola refrigerator, were said to be the personal belongings of erstwhile director Dr Ikhioya.
    Signed by Ibu Ngaji, approval was duly given by the current NIS director.
    An agitated Akinremi called the action, ‘abuse of office’. “How can you come a year after leaving a place and remove belongings of the institute. It is wrong and against the service rule to use a government establishment for your own business as a director. How can a serving director allow a former director to remove items of the school after he must have left the place, more than a year? It is uncalled for and it must stop.”
    On this, the director explained and concluded that, “It is a regular thing in the institute. The former director (Dr Ikhioya) wrote to us that he has some materials in the gym and I called the engineer to find out if those things are his and they confirmed that it was his own and so I approved for them to be removed. It is common among NIS staff to own business concerns as far as it is not affecting their job. Some of our staff own kiosks in the building and we allow them to sell things there. Even Akinremi that is talking has his own kiosk here.”

    More strange payments
    Still bizarre is a string of bank transactions that was made on November 3, 2016. NIS 2016 budget report records three separate payments into the account of ex-director Ikhioya on that day.
    The money totaling N508, 700 was paid into his account number 0042800628.
    Details show that the first N231, 600 was a Touring Advance (TA) to Abuja in 2014. The second was also tagged TA to Abuja in November 2015, while the third was described as ‘part payment for disengagement allowance.’
    Bursar Ichado said they were legitimate payments to Ekhioya. “Before he retired he made some valid trips that were not paid and we decided to pay them when the money became available. The last of it is part payment of his disengagement allowance, which is a total of N817, 000.00. We have not paid the rest of it because we don’t have it now,” he added.

    Whistle blower
    Akinremi, an Ife prince, is popular among his peers for being fearless, and his bearing has pitched him against the managements of Ikhioya and Chukwudi. He had blown the whistle several times while serving as ASURI chairman and recently, as HOD Sport Management Studies Department. He said it has affected his promotion and led to the disappearance of his official file.
    Akinremi is, however, worried about his file fearing that it has been doctored.
    “I have written five times asking to see my file, but the plea has fallen on deaf ears. My file has disappeared into the thin air and I fear that it has been badly doctored. I will leave NIS one day, and my fear is that whatever they may have sneaked into my file would affect my career. I’m appealing again for my file to be brought out.”

    Shut off
    Dr Chukwudi is equally worried about the missing file “I came on board to meet the issue of the missing file. This missing file has been ringing bell and no member of this management is happy about it. I have set up a committee on it since August 2015, headed by the Registrar and up till now, no report has been submitted. At the end of the day, he (Akinremi) would still remind us about it and on three occasions he has told us that he knows where his file is, and my answer to him is ‘why can’t he go directly to where your file is?’, he asked.
    The registrar said the committee is on the verge of summoning the former director and registrar to say what they know about the missing file.

    The bottom line
    Dr Chukwudi is not a man to be envied. He desires to reposition the NIS, but the crises he inherited constantly breaks away to haunt him.
    “I have not spent two years in NIS and within this time, I have done so much. I gave a fresh look to the institute. We painted the building and repaired the offices, put air conditioners in all the offices and tiled many places. The places that water was leaking we reroofed, put in window blinds, and made the place look well. I initiate keeping fit for all staff on Thursdays in order to get us together and bring harmony. We pray together on Tuesdays. We did talent hunt programme and training for 24 schools in Surulere because if we don’t catch them young, you cannot replace the ageing athletes. There are lots of equipment that we need to replace the old and obsolete ones in the gym and all these things involve money and we need money to move this place forward.
    “The NIS building is over 40 years old and all we could do is to keep maintaining and rebuilding every year. I will be very happy to leave a legacy here when I leave, not bickering, and acrimony.”
    Director Chukwudi speaks of his big plans for NIS; however, his biggest challenge is to arrest the crises that are threatening the very existence of the institute. But will he be able to?